Rectification
by pxlenno
Summary: <html><head></head>Mike Chang may not have been directly responsible for the whole "Lucy Caboosey" debacle back at Belleville Middle School, but all the same, he felt some sort of obligation to rectify it.</html>
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Rectification

**Spoilers: **up to 2x18 (Born This Way)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Glee. I don't think I'd be here if I did... jus' saying :)

**A/N: **yeah, I seriously don't know what I'm doing here- I randomly had this muse for some Mike & Quinn friendship ('cause that girl seriously needs some friends) and was all set to do a short piece when RIB lets loose the surprise attack that was Quinn's from-out-of-nowhere backstory. Sooooo yeah. I don't know what I'm doing, so bear with me... and let me know if I should continue or not :)

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><p>Mike Chang has never liked the spotlight, and that's how it's always been. He knows full well the workings of adolescent social structure- high school hierarchy is a dangerous one- it's dog eat dog, eat or be eaten.<p>

And so, he employs an infallible survival tactic: camouflage. He can't be eaten if he's not seen.

He likes to think he's become quite the expert at the art of blending in over the years. No, he's not overly popular but he's no social pariah; not the star quarterback, but on the football team nevertheless. Hell, the one thing that sets him apart from the rest – his aptitude for dancing- used to be to him simply a hobby that never left the confines of his bedroom. It took months of being in glee club to realize that this difference, as detrimental as it was to his otherwise solid guise of unanimity with the student body, was not one to hide away.

That being said, this survival tactic most definitely kept him alive and thriving within the archaic environment that is school, whether it be McKinley High, or even back in his days at Belleville Middle School.

Yes, he went to Belleville.

His social status back then was not at all dissimilar to the one he holds now. He had his core group of friends, and they were neither at the top nor the bottom of the socialite hierarchy, and that's how he liked it. He vaguely recalls the adornment those at the top would garner (whose names, funnily enough, are now hazy in his memory), and how such people set the standard, dictated what was what, and what would go down. He also vaguely recalls some girl that everyone picked on and avoided like the plague- not so much because she did anything wrong, but because it was dictated that it should be so. And truthfully, everyone (Mike included) was simply thankful that it was her and not them, that no one bothered to step in and question such unjust workings. He recalls her being the butt of everyone's jokes- friendless, chubby, alone- you know, the stereotypical outcast. He recalls her name was Lucy something or other. Now that he thinks of it, he doesn't remember ever knowing what her last name was; everyone just referred to her as "Lucy Caboosey" anyway... and he was too naive back then to see her as anything but that.

So yeah, camouflage kept him alive, but in the back of his mind, he's always seen it as a sacrificial sort of survival; Mike has always prided himself in his morals. Sure, he may not always act on them, but they're instilled in him- and not being able to act on them has always given him some sort of inner turmoil. He never did quite approve of what goes on in the cruel social world, but, when it came down to it, he chose his survival at the expense of that of others, and so, he has always refrained from speaking out. He didn't want to be seen. He won't be eaten if he's not seen.

But that's a thing of the past. If there's anything he's learned from glee club, it's to embrace differences, and especially in light of Mr Schue's latest theme for them – acceptance - Mike has resolved to start stepping out of his comfort zone and shed his invisibility cloak of conformity. It's time to start actively exemplifying the morals that he so believes in, it's time to walk the walk... a bit late in the game, but better late than never, he muses.

So of course, he's in for quite the surprise when he steps out of history class after third period. With a bounce in his step in anticipation for lunch time, he heads down the main hallway towards the cafeteria, where he usually meets up with Tina. However, as he turns the corner, he sees an unusually large cluster of students surrounding the bulletin board.

Curious, he edges closer to crowd to see what it is that's so enticing.

What he sees brings the all-too familiar feeling of uneasiness that starts in his stomach and makes him twitch with guilt.

_VOTE FOR LUCY CABOOSEY. _

And in all honesty, he is at first baffled that he never knew that this Lucy chick had also transferred to McKinley as well, and that in the picture she looks exactly the same as the vague memory of her he has in his head. He would think that if anything, her high school self would at least look older or _something, _he's not quite sure.

Then he starts to hone in on what the others are whispering about in fits of disbelief and laughter:

"_... Fabray, seriously?..."_

"_...yeah, didn't you hear that..."_

"_...that's what I heard too, and..."_

"_... Quinn Fabray! Totally..."_

Mike doesn't even have a chance to catch anything else, because at that moment, he hears the slam of a door being thrown open, a flurry of wild footsteps, and (speak of the devil) it's Quinn Fabray in the flesh, frantically pushing past the crowd, and in one sweeping movement, she rips down the poster and sprints back from the direction from which she came.

In her wake, she leaves a crowd of snickering teenagers, and one bewildered Mike Chang.

He feels his stomach drop, and he's not quite sure which is more shocking to him – the look of pure and absolute terror he saw in Quinn's face just now, or the fact that Quinn, _the_ Quinn Fabray is (was?) the infamous Lucy Caboosey of Belleville Middle School.

He's also unsure of what to do in the moment - to go and comfort Quinn or not? He can't quite remember the last time he ever talked to her; they were by no means close, nor did their relationship go beyond fellow glee clubbers (although now... he can add that extra association of bullied victim and useless bystander to the list, he supposes).

What Mike _is_ sure of though, is that while he may not have been the reason Lucy was treated the way she was back then, he feels indirectly responsible. He did nothing to stop it, and sometimes even participated in the social quarantining; the way he saw it, he had some sort of score to settle, a knot that needed untangling.

Well, that, plus the fact that he wants to live up to his reputation of being a nice guy and team member, and hey, the girl was absolutely devastated... what was the gentlemanly thing to do?

And so, he picks his jaw (his mouth being agape from shock) up from the floor, texts Tina a quick heads up that he'll be a tad late, and goes off to look for Quinn.

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><p><strong>AN:** Yay? Nay? Let me know - reviews & comments are definitely welcomed. Oh, and thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So this story is going to have spoilers up to Born This Way, but gonna be AU from there... 'cause really, no one gets over such a life-altering issue such as entirely reinventing oneself by singing a song and wearing a shirt (although the FQ moment that ensued was adorable). Anyway, on to chapter 2 :)

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><p>He finds her in an otherwise empty stairwell located at the farthest wing of the school. She's perched on the second-lowest step, her head resting against the railing. She seems to have sensed his presence though, as she visibly stiffens and straightens her posture as soon as he opens the door.<p>

Mike takes a deep breath, now mentally kicking himself for his sudden surge of chivalry, because really, he knows next to nothing about Quinn, and lucky for him, it's only now that he remembers how uncomfortable crying girls make him feel. He can already sense the awkwardness hovering in the air, heavy like a lethargic and encumbering fog. However, he rationalizes that turning around now would probably prove even more awkward, and so, he tentatively walks down the stairs, step by step, and comes to sit down next to her.

"Hey," he says after a minute has passed/

She sniffs, then turns her face away from him.

"I uh... I just want you to know that you still have my vote," he says cautiously with a halfhearted smile as he chances a glance over at the blonde next to him.

She's staring so intently at the floor that Mike half-expects there to be vandalism or an insect or _something_ that she's so intrigued about, but there isn't. Her face is passive, her mouth a straight line, and in stark contrast to the fear it displayed earlier, her expression is blank as can be.

But Mike has that picture of her imprinted in his mind, with hair disheveled and eyes wide in terror - something akin to a hurt lost puppy and so utterly contradictory of everything he knows about her (her alleged stoniness, her cold manipulation of others to gain popularity), that he forces himself to keep trying, despite the lack of reciprocity.

"You know... I went to Belleville too."

Quinn clenches her jaw, but her gaze remains fixated on the floor.

"And I know it doesn't really change matters, but I'm sorry about how you were treated... kids can be cruel. But if it means anything, if those kids back at Belleville could see you now, they'd all eat their hearts out. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

She suddenly wrenches her gaze form the floor and turns to look at him, locking green eyes with brown. Mike feels slightly petrified under the infamous glare of the ex-cheerleader, but he feels some sort of gut instinct that tells him not to look away; it's as if an impromptu staring contest has broken out between them and if he were to blink, he would miss out on something important. However, it's Quinn who looks away first (and Mike can't help but internally congratulate himself on the tiny victory). She looks up at the ceiling and bites out, "And you think you know about shame, do you?"

This catches him slightly off guard. "Uh... well I... I think that I have some shame about never having really stood up for stuff I believe in, or ev-"

"That's guilt. And not to mention overly cliché. But it's shame you can live with," she interjects harshly. Her voice hitches in her throat for a second, but she continues. "Talk to me when you've felt so ashamed of yourself you can't even look at yourself in the mirror; or even walk by a set of clean windows because you don't want to see your reflection. Or maybe when you're so shameful that even your damn _parents_ can't look you in the eye and tell you what you want so desperately to hear- that you're _loved_, that you're _fine_ the way you are and that you're not tarnishing their otherwise perfect reputation. _That's_ shame- so much that you can't stand living with it."

"Quinn..." he starts, but quickly stops, gut instinct telling him that she wants (needs) to let all this out_._

"And I couldn't live with it. That's why I'm not Lucy anymore. I'm not living that life. I won't," she finishes as she averts her gaze, "I just can't."

Mike, once again, finds himself floored... but his curiosity is too strong and gets the better of him, enticing him to ask in a near-whisper, "So... what happened that summer in between Belleville and McKinley?"

"Exercise. Medication. Nose job," she replies flippantly, as if stating it so matter-of-factly would make both Mike and herself believe she didn't care.

He pauses. "Nose job? So that's why... the whole thing with Rachel..." he sighs, and places a hand on her knee. "Quinn... you _hafto_ know that we wouldn't value you any less if you were still Lucy. You're still you. You know that."

Wrong move, Changster. This riles her up again, and she swipes his hand away in anger. "No. No, you know what, Mike? If you really went to Belleville, you of all people don't have a right to say that. You don't. I'm not still Lucy. I'm _Quinn._ Quinn freaking Fabray. And if I were still Lucy, you're right, no one would value me less, you know why? Because Lucy had no value _anyway_. I've been at the bottom- I've been there! And now that I'm at the top, I'm _happy_ now. You don't get to judge me for that, Mike. You don't."

Mike pauses before answering, unsure of how to efficiently express and word his thoughts (which are not too coherent, not even to himself). He starts slowly, "See... I sort of have a different theory. I'm thinking that deep down, you don't really like being at the top. No, look at me. I'm dead serious."

"And here I was thinking that this was hilarious."

"Kay, just- just _listen_.I don't know what it's like to be made to feel worthless at the bottom, and I don't know what it's like to rule from the top; I've been on middle grounds all my life. But here's the thing, Quinn. Middle gives you a great view of both ends."

She's now gripping the edge of the stairs on which she sits with such vigor her knuckles are white.

"You have every right- _every right_- to be hurt and miserable as Lucy; it's absolute crap what happened. But Quinn... Quinn's not happy either. Don't pretend she is. In fact, I think she's just as miserable, possibly more so."

"You ... you don't know anything about me."

He chooses to pretend not to have heard her. "It's because Quinn's still gotta live with the shame, it's still in her. She has all these expectations for herself, to be at the top...yet she doesn't even know how to be up there. The only example she's had of popularity was cruelty. So I think... I think she bullies others not because she's actually a bitch like everyone believes, but because it's all she knows and she thinks that it's required of the status. And she'd do anything to keep that status, 'cause having that is protection. And she kinda feels that if Lucy isn't free to be who she was, why should others?"

She stares at him, seemingly at a loss for words, but all the same, she tries to muster up all the venom she can: "Don't Chang. I'm warning you." The threat falls short though, as he notes that she's trembling (whether it's a result of anger or fear he's not too sure).

He knows he crossing a line here; the words coming out of his mouth make even him cringe as he hears it, but gut instinct tells him that it's something she needs to hear, and badly. He continues, "And so she's forced to be the epitome of everything she hates one way or another-"

"Okay, stop. Mike. Stop," she begs, all pretence of stoicism now gone, "_please."_

"...when she was Lucy, she hated herself because no one loved her. And as Quinn, she still hates herself, because she feels like she`s forced to become the type of person who made Lucy hate herself."

She stands up suddenly, no longer bothering to hide the tears that are now flowing freely from her eyes and leaving glistening tracks on her cheeks. "Screw you," she whispers. And just like that, she marches up the stairs and leaves, letting the door slam behind her.

Mike remains seated, and now that he's replaying the conversation on his head, he feels even more bewildered, if that was humanly possible.

He has no idea what possessed him to say the things he did (hell, he didn't even know he was thinking those thoughts), especially in the way that he did. He has never in his life been the outspoken type, so for him to express such opinions aloud, let alone to ex-cheerleader and Quinn Fabray, probably shocks him as much as it did her. So much for being a gentleman, Chang.

But all the same, there's no denying that interspersed between the overwhelming guilt he feels about his counterproductive attempt at comforting the girl, he feels a sense of progression and accomplishment. He might not have known her intimately, but he knows Quinn's reputation around here: she's not one to wear her heart on her sleeve. In fact, it might be accurate to say that she doesn't even keep it on her person, but instead in a locked chest six feet underground. The fact that he was able to elicit the myriad of emotions he did speaks volumes.

There are just so many, _so many_ facets to this one girl, and it really does fascinate him- how fragmented can one person be before being considered broken?

He's not so sure he wants to find out, though.

It's then that his stomach releases a lurching growl, causing him to step off of the speeding train of his thoughts, and he finally arrives back into the present. He checks his watch and much to his disdain, he sees that there are only fifteen minutes left in the lunch period. He gets up, shakes his limbs loose, and makes his way back to the cafeteria.

He's not done with Quinn though (far from).

Today's conversation only proved to him that Belleville did more damage to the girl than he originally thought. This fills him with an angry impulse to hunt down the bullies and beat them senseless, and by unfortunate correlation, makes his _own_ guilt multiply tenfold for his lack of intervention.

So, he decides, he'll intervene now. The bully this time around is different (its herself) and given the fact that she probably wants nothing to do with him now, he might not be in the right position to say or do anything. But either way, he has resolved to help her, regardless of whether she wants help so... she'll get it, and that's that.

Whether she liked it or not, Lucy Quinn Fabray just found herself a new friend.

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><p><strong>AN:** Not sure if I like how this turned out; Mike was a bit harsher than intended, but yeah, I don't know... seems like it was all talk and no action, but yeah. Thanks a bunch for reading, and feel free to drop any comments. Constructive criticism is welcome :)


	3. Chapter 3

Although their paths do not cross again for the remainder of the day, Mike runs into her constantly within his own consciousness; he can't get those sad, sad eyes out of his head. There is something so haunting about those hazel eyes, as if they've seen enough to last a lifetime.

And as he sits there idly in class, exercising his perfected art of hearing but not quite listening to the teacher's lullaby of a lesson, he just thinks- about Quinn, about her situation. Doing so, he realizes that although he knows a lot _about_ her, he barely knows _her_. It takes a lot to look past impressions solidified by both the student body and cultural norms... and once he takes that away, there's nothing. This empathy thing is pretty tough business.

Quinn Fabray. Cheerios captain turned ex-captain, rinse and repeat. Having left the squad on her own accord the second time around, she received none of the social backlash she had experienced the first time (of course, it helps that the Cheerios dissolved the instant three of its major players left). But captain or no, her presence is commandeering of reverence in the halls of McKinley.

Of course, it's common knowledge that it wasn't always like that. Being a part of the glee club, Mike was privy to Quinn at her most vulnerable time- the pregnancy and the subsequent loss of everything worth a damn in the high school social system. Its common knowledge that her own father turned his back on her, and it's also common knowledge that this juicy saga of a gossip story ended when she gave the baby away (a beautiful baby girl named Beth… although this tidbit is only known among the New Directions).

The following September, she was back from the outskirts of social quarantine and rocketed up the hierarchal ladder in a blink. No one questioned it. Quinn Fabray was back with a vengeance, armed with a heart that seemed to have frozen solid over the summer. So that was that. The guys once again wanted her (untouchable and revered), and all the girls wanted to be her.

Mike _knows_ all this (who doesn't?), but for the first time, he sets aside his impressions regarding her obsessive drive for popularity (they aren't good impressions, to be honest – they would paint her in an antagonistic light) and disregards the unspoken disapprovals he has of her bullying and cheating.

Strip all that away and add Lucy to the equation, and Mike comes to an interesting conclusion: Quinn's life is terrible.

Okay fine, fine; he's not about to win a Nobel prize for this anti-climatic epiphany, but it dawns on him that she's never really had anyone, not really. As Lucy, the concept of companionship was something of dreams, and she was alone more often than not (Mike again feels the ever so slight churn of guilt in his gut). Now... well now she may be surrounded by people who will do her bidding, that hang around and act the part as friends, but their acting always falls short when push comes to shove (case in point: babygate). Sure, Mike remembers the blonde's friendship with Mercedes, but from what Tina tells him, the ties binding that relationship have long slackened (he never pried further at the time, chalking it up as 'girl stuff'). And the family issues; clearly it all stems from this, somehow, someway. What kind of family condones their kid's self-loathing to support plastic surgery? What kind of family disowns their kid in the kid's most dire moment of need?

The most Quinn really has right now is… well, Finn. But everyone knows Finn isn't the brightest bulb around. So long story short, she needs a friend, and badly.

Challenge accepted.

But of course… that just brings him back to square one. Mike drums his fingers on the wooden desk in front of him. _How_ is he going to go about this?

His plans never get the chance to germinate, however, as the bell tolls and signals the release of the captive students. It's as if life has been breathed back into them; moments ago blank and bleary-eyed, the students of McKinley jump as if shocked, and rush into the hallways with renewed vigour. Today, though, Mike doesn't join in. His thoughts are elsewhere as he slowly takes the familiar route to his locker.

By the time he arrives at his destination, Tina is waiting for him with textbooks in hand and a smile on her face.

"Hey, you. Missed you at lunch today," she offers.

Mike pecks her cheek in greeting and scans the vicinity before answering. Once satisfied that no one was within immediate earshot, he frowns and asks, "You hear about the Quinn thing?"

Mike has always found it adorable how Tina's facial expressions are so telling; now, he watches in mild amusement as Tina's eyes grow wide with intrigue and she nods emphatically. "Yeah- I mean, news like that travels at the speed of light! It's pretty crazy though. I always took for granted that Quinn was one of those pretty girls who were always pretty. Like, they were just always that way and never knew anything else."

Swiftly turning the lock and prying his locker open, Mike nods in agreement as his girlfriend rambles on.

He's all packed and ready to go when Tina's asks, "Did you hear that Zizes was the one who did it?"

Mike pauses. So distracted he has been by the aftermath of the Lucy scandal, he suddenly realizes he never even bothered finding out the cause of it. He slams his locker door shut in frustration. "Didn't hear about that part," he growls, "that's low. That's real low."

Tina looks momentarily taken aback by his hostility, but nods in agreement. "Yeah, definitely." She shyly outstretches her palm towards him, and he takes it in his own. Together they make their way towards the parking lot, where Mike's car will be awaiting to transport them back home.

"At the same time though..." Tina starts tentatively, looking at Mike curiously as though she were scared of another hostile outburst yet too intrigued not to ask, "Should we be really feeling all that bad for Quinn? I mean, she probably would have done the same thing to Zizes, you know. If she could, something tells me she would."

Mike chews the inside of his cheek. "Maybe, maybe not. People don't really give her enough credit sometimes. She's not that bad a person."

"Oh, she's not," Tina quickly asserts, "she definitely has her moments. It's just that... when it comes to popularity and prom queen stuff, have you noticed how scary she gets?"

"Well, yeah that stuff is important to her, so she goes for it. Can anyone really blame her?"

"Uhm...yeah? If she's going to bully people to gain popularity she's responsible for actions."

"But she was bullied like crazy too! It's like..the only way she knows how to exercise her power, so she doesn't know any better!"

Tina stops and raises an eyebrow at him. "Are you serious? I'd say it's even worse. If you know how much it sucks, why are you doing it to others?"

They're standing in front of his silver corolla now, in a parking lot deserted save for the vehicles of some straggling students and teaching staff. "She...she's had a hard life. She just deserves a break."

"I know, I know. I totally agree- her life has been like a soap opera, and she's not a bad person. I mean, she has her moments."

"Yeah."

She rubs circles in his palm soothingly. "Any reason in particular why this is bothering you so much?"

"I went to Belleville. That nickname - Lucy Caboosey - that's what she was called. And seriously, people were downright mean," he explains, "I guess I graduated and never saw it as my issue."

Tina's expression grows stern. "You didn't join in the bullying did you?"

"No! No, not directly. But I mean, I just went with the flow, you know? So just imagine if you thought finding out today was shocking...me, I remember Lucy, and I know Quinn, and putting those together in my mind is like...like, bam! Mind explosion!

And I just can't stop thinking about it you know? Like all I can think about is how messed up that girl is, and how cold she can be, and you can't help but wonder if she even had just one friend back then, if she'd be a totally different person now."

"It sucks. But it's not your fault."

"I don't know. Does it matter? Can't I help anyway?"

Tina gazes at him for a long moment, then smiles and pecks him chastely on the cheek. "You and your hero complex. It's adorable."

"You know it," he smirks. "But yeah, it just really bugs me."

"How about this- I'll talk to Mercedes for you. Ask her if she knows anything... I mean, they did live together for a while last year."

"Yeah, that'd be good..." he agrees, as they both step into the car.

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><p>Tina's house is a cozy 2-storey house on the west side of Lima. What this is means is that after he drops her off, he has to drive back to the east side, where his house is located, passing by McKinley in the process... as per routine.<p>

What _isn't_ routine, however, is the blonde he sees briskly walking away from school, presumably to get home.

And of course, just his luck, said blonde happens to be Quinn Fabray.

Now, everyone knows where the Fabrays live- it's just one of those things that are unanimously known amongst the student body; everyone recognizes the Fabray mansion on the upper east side of Lima.

It is this fact that strikes Mike as odd: upper east side of Lima is a good thirty minute walk away (ten by car), and of all the days he's taken this route afterschool, today is the first he's ever seen her walk home.

Well... the coincidence has to be a sign of some sort, he tells himself. Mike nods in resolve and decelerates the car, pulling up by the curb next to Quinn.

The girl startles at first, freezing mid-step. Recognition then registers in her eyes, and the surprised expression quickly gives way to the all-too-familiar look of nonchalance. Mike, ever the observer, takes note of the speedy transition. He rolls down the passenger window and waves.

"What do you want, Chang?"

"Need a ride home?"

"No."

"Your place is pretty far from here."

"I know perfectly well where I live."

"What happened to your car?"

"Go away," she sneers as she resumes walking, seemingly to have resolved to ignore him.

Mike, not one to give up, simply shrugs and starts his car. He keeps at an extremely slow speed, just enough to match her pace. He does this for about a block or so, until she finally snaps and turns to glare at him.

"Please tell me you aren't serious."

"It's a long walk. Let me give you a ride, Quinn."

"What is your issue?

Suppressing the urge to smirk, Mike just shrugs innocently and raises an eyebrow. Quinn simply responds with an angry scoff and resumes ignoring the vehicle tagging alongside her.

He really isn't quite sure what possessed him to do so, and where such courage came from- under normal circumstances, he would never have dared to disobey _the_ Quinn Fabray of McKinley royalty, for fear of being singled out- but he ends up following her all the way back to the Fabray mansion. But hey, he's already crossed that line of no return- if she already has him on her blacklist, what does it matter?

Upon arrival, Quinn promptly marches up the interlock driveway, goes into her house and slams the door without a backwards glance.

As he rolls his window back up and proceeds to back out of her driveway to finally head home, Mike can't help but smile. A tiny part of him fears for his own sanity (is dogging her home really going to get him into her good books?), but somehow, he feels like he's going somewhere, and he has definitely left an impression.

What _kind_ of impression, however, remains to be seen.

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><p>Over the course of the next few days, he follows the same route home again after dropping Tina off, only to find that Quinn Fabray is still seemingly car-less, and thus, still walking home.<p>

And so, over the course of the next few days, Mike and Quinn continue to drive and walk (respectively) to the Fabray mansion, usually in silence, save the occasional sighs of exasperations elicited by the blonde.

By the time they make to her driveway on the fourth day, he's about to back out when she suddenly whips around and sticks her head through his open passenger-side window, startling him in the process. However, ever the agile and smooth dancer, he recovers quickly.

"Okay, seriously, _what_ the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

Mike shrugs, "Just wanted to hang out?" He offers a weak smile.

If looks could kill, Mike is pretty sure he would be dead by now; she glares and raises an eyebrow at him. "If I didn't know you were harmless and awkward as you are, I would have already called the police. But all the same: what. Are. You. Doing?"

"I was just thinking... we've known each other for so long, but we don't really know each other, y'know?" He gulps, and starts rambling, "And ju-just wanted to make sure you're doing okay. I mean, with glee and school and prom and everything; it must be a lot of stress to deal with and all-"

"If this is about the _Lucy_ thing" she bites out (and Mike notices that momentary look of disgust that crosses her features as she spits out her old name), "you can drop it and get your sorry ass home before I make you more sorry than you already are. I don't need your pity. I don't need anything from you at all, actually."

"There's a difference between pity and concern, Quinn."

She opens her mouth in retort, but Mike quickly continues before she gets a chance to. "And yeah, we're all part of glee club and we all claim that this is one big cheesy cliché family, so why don't we act it? Yeah, you're a strong girl, but you've had a shit week. And I'm not saying you can't handle it alone, but why should you have to?"

She just stares at him, and Mike once again finds himself staring into those mesmerizing eyes once again, and he _swears_ he sees them soften the tiniest bit, if ever so slightly.

She drums her fingers along the window ledge, quickly transitioning from anger to nonchalance (a perfected skill) and simply comments, "Well... next time don't creep me by driving your tank of a car next to me. I think you've singlehandedly burnt a hole through the ozone layer by now."

And with that, she turns on her heel, and, as always, makes her way into the fortress of a house in front of them without a backwards glance.

In the car, Mike breaks out into a grin. He reverses out of the driveway and makes his way home, satisfied and relieved that his seemingly insane gut instinct seems to have gotten him somewhere.

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><p><strong>AN:** so sorry that it took pretty much... half a year to update! This is a bit longer; hope that _begins_ to atone for it. But yeah, sorry again! Also, as always, reviews and comments are _greatly _appreciated! Oh, and happy holidays everyone :)


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